Lords of the East - Council Chambers

[Quirl]

Though the Qara-Suu woman shows a visible frown at the thought of an East "purged of war," she nonetheless turns her blind eyes to the new delegation and extends her arms...

We welcome you, our Ghaznavid masters from afar... who would come so humbly to the courts of those who saw your empire vanquished so long ago...

She smiles.

We wish you well on your desire for peace and should you ever require our aid to insure such a thing, never hesitate to look north, dear friends.

She bows low, then continues her quiet conversation with her young servant boy.

[Thanatos Eclipse]

"Peace in the East! I'll drink to that," Captian Amr says loudly. "Ay captain, as will I," Femr adds. The Omani sailors all refill their goblets and down them in one gulp. At this point the Omani delegation had been celebrating for days now and were in quite cheery moods, toasting any good news that made it to the ears of the court.

[DrFitzgerald]

An amused Hasanak chuckles at the antics of the Imamate and stares wistfully into his ever depleting goblet of wine.

Yes, peace would be welcomed. Much work must be put it into discovering this new freedom and it will not go without danger, war will most likely beset my humble nation. I'm sure the Imamate of Oman will contribute to this effort by protecting their Gulf with integrity.

Swivelling lightly on the polished floor Hasanak turns to face the mysterious women from the northern realms and the mercenary Khaganate of the Qara-Suu.

Our Empire vanished in the sands of time due to our Sultan's desiring war in India and the riches it would reap. However, the new court of the Sultan are wise to the physical desire of money and many aspiring commanders now flock the ranks of our ever expanding military. I'm sure that if a time came, the mighty Seljuks of the west would be easily cast out of our great capital, without assuming to much offence on the great Sultan.

On behalf of my majestic Sultan, I offer thanks for your gracious offer. We would be greatly honoured if our military or intelligence failed us so much that we had to resort to hiring the immaculate warriors and spies of your nation. The offer will not be thought lightly upon my lady.

Bowing his head once more to the delegations of the East Hasanak sloops into his chair and drains the last drops of wine from his goblet.

[Thanatos Eclipse]

"My friend, the Gulf is safe in our hands, but haven't you heard? The oppressive Imamate has fallen and the Omani Admiralty has freed the people of the coast. That is why we Omani celebrate!"

Captain Amr stops long enough to toast with the Omani delegation again, then continues,

"We welcome you to Baghdad, Hasanak, and may you find the peace you seek here in this court."

[DrFitzgerald]

Ah, the notes of the scribe I hired seem to have not been so detailed as I imagined. I hope you forgive me for my grave error Captain. I'm sure my scribe will get me informed on other matters I have missed from my journey.

[Merlox]

The court room was currently being rummaged for any thing that the Seljuk Sultan or the brother, the Newly appointed Diplomat. The Seljuk Diplomat would bark at both of them.

I am sorry to interupt your most un-important and boring news of the Far east. The Sultan will soon crown the New Caliph of Baghdad himself, Caliph Mahmud of Baghdad! There will be soon a ceremony to come. He will become the new leader of Islam.

If any one declares the alliegaince to the fallen Abbasid Caliphate and the now dead heritic caliph, you will be officially at war with the Seljuk Empire.

He would then rummage through the room, to see if any thing he would like...

[DrFitzgerald]

Arching a delicate eyebrow Hasanak smiles before hiding it in a mask of indifference.

Ah, I'm sorry to bore the ears of the most graceful and wonderful diplomat from the Great Seljuks. I'm sure that in future those in the East will restrain their conversation to more exciting matters. For now though we are pleased with our victories.

As to the crowning of Caliph Mahmud, I wish him luck, though it will remain to be seen if an iron fist can be a suitable leader of the Muslims...

[Quirl]

OOC:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I am sorry to interupt your most un-important and boring news of the Far east. The Sultan will soon crown the New Caliph of Baghdad himself, Caliph Mahmud of Baghdad! There will be soon a ceremony to come. He will become the new leader of Islam.

Can we expect a name change, Merlox? Perhaps the Great Seljuk Caliphate!

[Cultured Drizzt fan]

The court room was currently being rummaged for any thing that the Seljuk Sultan or the brother, the Newly appointed Diplomat. The Seljuk Diplomat would bark at both of them.

I am sorry to interupt your most un-important and boring news of the Far east. The Sultan will soon crown the New Caliph of Baghdad himself, Caliph Mahmud of Baghdad! There will be soon a ceremony to come. He will become the new leader of Islam.

If any one declares the alliegaince to the fallen Abbasid Caliphate and the now dead heritic caliph, you will be officially at war with the Seljuk Empire.

He would then rummage through the room, to see if any thing he would like...

Frankly I find that as boring as uninteresting as the former news. I have little use for whichever nation claims to be the new Caliphate. It is likely in another dozen years we will see the rise of Another caliph.


(just letting everyone know I am still here Hopefully I will be able to say more about stuff like this when my new laptop comes in. 9 days and counting. )

[Merlox]

Ofcourse, The Caliph's son. and as it is, You should have alot of interest, As you are neighboring.

[DrFitzgerald]

Hasanak elegantly re-enters the chambers after a short while away. His movements are strange to those familiar with him as he sits on a chair at the next table along from where he normally sits. Curious glances are cast in his direction before he stands and gracefully bows to the courtroom.

Foreign dignitaries and ambassadors. I do not stand before you today as the delegation for the Sultanate of Ghazni. No! Instead I stand here as the delegation for most holy nation ruled by Sultan Muhammad of the Ghorids.

I was approached by the Sultan late in the afternoon and he told me dark tales of of both our nations. The Ghaznavids were being invaded and had a few months left before utter destruction. The Ghorids stood as the only Persian-Iranian nation worth mentioning.

I quickly took up the offer from Sultan Muhammed and join their loyal ranks. I now represent them in their struggle for survival. I do have word though that our mighty nation has recovered from their debts and intend to expand into a few neighbouring provinces.

Respectfully bowing his head as usual Hasanak returns to his seat.

[Quirl]

A wise decision, noble Persian. We look forward to hearing from the Ghorid delegation equally so.

She bows.

OOC:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Sorry Dr, I would have retconned your ambassador as a Ghorid, but I forgot to do that earlier.

You seemed to have handled it nicely though.

[Quirl]

Kamelya Kadri's young servant boy comes in the room and bows to her. He guides the blind woman's hand to a letter, placing it in her frail grasp. She unfurls the scroll and runs her fingers across the wax markings burnt onto the page. She sighs, then hands the paper back to the boy and addresses the court...

Seljuk masters, why do you go against your word and take those lands which border the sacred waters? More specifically, your current occupation of Kutaisi? Has the new Caliphate grown so big that it forgets its small friends in the Steppes?

She coos.

[Merlox]

The Seljuk Diplomat would only laugh.

We are not taking these grounds, we are simply getting rid of the rebels, and giving you the lands, As it is, The Sultan refuses that any army stands idles as long as there are rebels neighboring, Please send a diplomat, and just simply request the settlement. I did not realize that the Black Khan would jump to hostilities of an act of friendship. We only do this, To help our small friends of the steppes. As it is, Ani may fall the next season, to also help you.

[Quirl]

The woman coos again.

Ah. Forgive, my pessimism Seljuk masters. Simply 'twas with your unannounced kindness.... coupled with the recent influx of your spies into the Steppes... that we jumped to conclusions. Of course, you know you are equally welcome to trade map information freely with us. There is no need for cloak and daggers, Sadik.

... especially with us.

[DrFitzgerald]

With a broad smile on his face Hasanak rises from his seat and addresses the Chamber.

It is my privilege to announce that the Ghorid Sultanate and the Khwarezm Shah have successfully concluded peace agreements. In return for peace and yearly trade the Shah has been granted a free right to rule over the territory they won rightfully off us and have been allocated a free reign to do what they wish with the Sultanate of Ghazni as it is. We hope this is the start of a blossoming relationship.

However, our mighty Sultanate will not be idle in the time of peace gracefully gifted to us. We are at war with the surrounding rebellious states and will shortly incorporate all of them into our nation. We are also campaigning against the Chauhan Rajputs in the East. These Hindu's think they can control lands that are rightfully the Muslims? Yes they do! For this insolence we will purge them off this planet and incorporate their vast and rich provinces into our great Sultanate, as a warning to the other Hindu's who dare trespass on rightful Muslim territory.

Signing off with a respectful bow Hasanak sits down.

[Quirl]

The lady turns to the Ghorid.

Wonderful news, Ghorid masters. I'm sure it will be yet another excuse for the Omani delegation to break out their wine...

With a somewhat distasteful look, she turns a brief glance over to the debaucherous Omani sailors.

OOC:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

You mean the Chauhan Rajputs? There isn't a Sultanate of Delhi in this game as far as I know.

They're still Hindu.

[DrFitzgerald]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Ah yes, you are right. They are the Chauhan Rajputs. I completely forgot what the faction name was when I was writing this up so I searched the TWC BC forum and found a thread called the Sultanate of Delhi. I knew they were based in Delhi (obviously) so it seemed the most likely solution. Grr! Editing.

[Thanatos Eclipse]

Ignoring the witch’s sarcasm, Captain Amr finishes reading the letter in his hand and then addresses the court.

“It appears that in celebration of the Omani’s recent freedom and to honor this court...and its new hosts, the Omani are gifting three of our greatest books to this court's library. It will take a few days for them to get here, but hey, have a drink NOW, on US, anyways...In celebration of course.”

With a big, somewhat creepy smile on his face, Amr sits down and goes back to sifting through the letters in front of him.

OOC

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

just don't worry about the powdery substance he slipped in your drink, it is of no consequence

[phonicsmonkey]

Seigneur Bland raises a single eyebrow at the exchange between the Seljuks and Qara-Suu before turning to the Seljuk vizier and asking him:

Sirrah is it true that in the sack of Baghdad the Great Library was burned to the ground? My sources tell me that in the fire all of the great works of Islamic literature and science were lost...

...all three of them!

He laughs at his own joke before turning to his closest neighbour and saying, behind his hand,

The greatest tragedy, or so I'm told, is that only two of them had already been coloured in!

[Merlox]

The Seljuk Diplomat was confused at the Franks.

There was no fire. The Library was sacked, and the sultan might give back the books, or turn it into their capital.

[Merlox]

Trade Advisers have came up with an idea with the Franks. Even though Mosul has been considered neutral territory, The Seljuks will pay the Franks 5,000 if they can occupy Mosul for respects of destroying the rebel As they might need it now due to their Crusading forces have reached Constantinople (Hinted by the tripple military bar graph increase., (1 unit garrison) and use it as a trade hub to Kingdom of Jerusalem

Would the Honorable king accept this?

[phonicsmonkey]

Orloomo Bland receives a written message, frowns while reading it and turns to respond to the Seljuk.

Well, it seems you have gone ahead and taken control of Mosul, against our agreement which you yourself proposed, without waiting for our response and initiating a state of war with us in the process.

This is an extremely unusual and risky way to conduct diplomacy sir.

We will accept the 5000 florins, but in future we expect you to respect our agreements and negotiate with us before taking military action.

This is the only time we will allow such an act of war to pass without retribution.

Be warned.

[Merlox]

The Seljuk Diplomat would act quite confused.

In private, You told us that diplomats from you would come to collect the 5,000. We see no problem in what we did, considering we did not hurt any one in the process.

[Quirl]

Alas, what harsh politics rule this court.

She lays the back of her hand upon her head.

We hope our own dealings go more peacefully. Speaking of which, a man named Akin is on his way to request the settlements Kutaisi and Ani. I trust these deals will go down more smoothly and without any delay, because we refuse to participate in such needless belligerence...

... we don't make threats.

[Merlox]

The Seljuk diplomat smiles and nods at the old woman.

Akin... I'll have my men informed at once.

[Thanatos Eclipse]

A messenger enters the court, followed by his slave hauling three enormous books. Each had an elaborately decorated cover; two with gold covers and one ivory. Captain Amr, sitting with the Omani delegation, perks up at the sight.

"It seems the Omani gifts have arrived!" Amr took a look at the books; he seemed excited as he looked at the gold covered books, but upon reaching the ivory book he became crestfallen. "It seems the Admiral thought it...wise to include that...biography they wrote over me." Clearly irritated, Amr directs the messenger towards the court library. Heading back to his seat he mumbled, "I bet the Admiral is having himself a good laugh about that one." Sitting down in his seat, he yanks the drink out of the hand of the sailor beside him and downs it all at once.

Amr's mood did not improve for awhile and it effectively put an end to the Omani delegation's continuous celebrations.

[Merlox]

The Seljuk Diplomat would sigh.

Maybe the seljuk people will read it once you do some more feats other than bully some old religious people.

He would chuckle alittle.

[Thanatos Eclipse]

Femr’s face goes completely red; he clenches his fist as they start shaking; fire seems to leap into Femr’s eyes as his rage gets ready to burst out all over the Seljuk diplomat. Amr, expecting this reaction from the old sailor, has two of his crew drag Femr out of his chair and walk him quickly out of the room and back to his quarters where he can rant in private. Captain Amr then turns to the Seljuk diplomat and says calmly.

“Religious, HA! Those tyrants forgot about their duties to Allah and their people long ago. It is only out of the Admiral’s care for his people that he has allowed those tyrants to live so that they can return to their humble spiritual duties once more. If you actually read those books, you would have learned that the Admiralty freed the Omani from the slavery, oppression, and ‘bullying’ we suffered under those ‘old religious people’.”

Amr walks out of the room and the Omani delegation isn’t seen for a couple of days. It is widely assumed that they are “cooling down” at a more accepting location.

[Quirl]

The woman laughs.

And diplomacy falls by the way side again.

She picks up one of the Omani books and continues to have her servant boy read to her.

At least someone has bothered to populate that wretched library here.

The boy turns a page.